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(No Model.) A 2 Sheets-Sheet 1'. J. M. DODGE.

APPARATUS FOR UNLOADING BOATS.

No. 402,419. Patented Apr. 30, 1889.

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(NdModeL) 2 Sheets-Sheet 2.

. J. M. DODGE. APPARATUS FOR UNLOADING BOATS.

N0. 402,419Q v Patented Apr. '30, 1889..

ATTEST- V I INVENTOR m 000 N. PETERS. Phmn-lhlwinphcr, wminm n c.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JAMES M. DODGE, OE PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA, ASSIGNOR TO THE DODGECOAL STORAGE COMPANY, OF SAME PLACE.

APPARATUS FOR UNLOADING BOATS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 402,419, dated April30, 1889.

Application filed December 3, 1388- Serial No.292,516. (No model.)

To all whmn it may amt/corn:

. Be it known that I, JAMES M. DODGE, of Philadelphia, in the county ofPhiladelphia andState of Pennsylvania, have invented a new andusefulImproved Conveyer for Unloading Boats; and I do hereby declare that thefollowing is'a full, clear,'and exact dcscription thereof, referencebeing had to the accompanying drawings making part of this application.

My invention relates to certain new and useful improvements intrough-conveyer apparatuses or contrivances adapted specially to thepurpose of taking coal and other mate rial from the barges or boats inthe water and conveying it ashore and to a suitable elevation, fromwhich it may be conveniently discharged either in storage-heaps or intocars for transportation; and my invention consists, essentially, in anovel arrangement or combination of conveyer-chain in such apparatuses,with suitable means whereby the endless chain or circuit of flights maybe increased or diminished in length from the point of supply to thepoint of discharge of the material to be conveyed, all as will behereinafter more fully explained, and as will be more'particularlypointed out and specifically defined in the claim of this specification.

To enable those. skilled in the art to make and use my improvements, Iwill now proceed to more fully describe them, referring by letters tothe accompanying drawings, which form part of this specification, and inwhich I have shown my invention carried out in that form in which I haveso far practically used it, though it may be carried into effect, ofcourse, under various modifications.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a top or plan view of so much of myimproved contrivance as is necessary to be shown in order to fullyillustrate my invention. Fig. 2 is a vertical longitudinal section ofthe same. Fig. 3 is a detail view on an enlarged scale of thewinding-drum and clutch mechanism of the apparatus. v v

In all the figures the same parts will be found designated by the sameletters of reference.

A represents a trestle-work or frame of any desired height or length,and designed to properly support the horizontal portion of the trough Z)of a trough conveyer, and on which are also supported other workingparts of the apparatus or contrivance, which will be presentlydescribed. This trestle-work is constructed with a descending portion, Aof much less width, (a part only of which is shown,) that extends onwarda sufficient ex tent to properly support the inclined orobliquely-arranged portion of said conveyertrough b, as clearlyindicated.

0 is an endless cable-chain (the lower portion of the double run ofwhich is shown as broken away) that is provided in the usual manner withconveyer-fiights cl, and which is arranged and runs in a peculiar manneror direction in connection with suitable driving and supportingsprocket-wheels, as I willnow explain. This flighted chain c, it will be1111- derstood by reference to the drawings, has its lower runextendedfrom the lowermostpoint of the trough conveyer (not shown) along up overparallel with and in sufficiently close proximity to the floor of theobliquely-ar- I trough b to the driving sprocket -wheel 8, 'around whichwheel said chain makes a halfturn, and thence is run in the oppositedirection, but parallel with the horizontal portion of the trough to anidler sprocket-wheel, g, which is arranged in a horizontal plane ortransversely to the driving sprocket-wheel e and making a half-turn in alateral direction around said sprocket-wheel g. Said chain is thence runin a parallel but opposite direct-ion to another idler sprocket-wheel,3, (see particularly Fig. 1,) around which it makes a half-turn, andruns thence to the idler sprocket-wheelh, around which it makes a slightbend, passing thence to the idler sprocketwheel is, around which itmakes another slight bend, and from which said chain is extended down tothe sprocket wheel (not shown) to the lowermost point of the conveyer,around which sprocket-wheel (that, like the drivewheel 6, is arranged ina vertical plane) the chain completes its circuit.

The horizontally-arranged idler sprocketwheels g, 71, and 7; have theirvertically-arranged arbors or axles properly supported, as shown, insuitable frames or standards, marked, respectively, 'i,j, and W, and allthree of these idler sprocket-wheels, it will be understood, arearranged in planes parallel with those portions of the conveyor-troughover which they are located and have their axes of motion unchangeable.The outer sprocketwheel, 3, however, has its shaft or arbor y mounted insuitable bearings on a truck, 01?, the wheels at of which rest andtravel upon a suitable track or track-beams, 0, which are properlysecured to the top cross-beams of the trestle-work A, as clearly shown,(see particularly Fig. 1,) the said truck on being held in place againstthe draft-strain of the doubledup conveyor-chain by a rope or cable,r,which has one of its ends preferably secured, as shown, to one of thecross-beams'of the trestlework, and which, being then wound around a windlass, f, passes through a series of sheaves or tackle-blocks,p q, oneof which is made fast to the same cross-beam of the trestlework to whichone end of the cable is secured. (See particularly Fig. 1.) ThisWindlass or winding-drum i is mounted fast on a shaft, u, thebearing-boxes of which are properly secured to the upper part of thetrestle-work, as shown, and which is provided at t) with a suitablegear, through the medium of which the necessary power and motion may beimparted to said shaft to from any desirable source.

w is a clutch, which is adapted in the usual manner to be thrown in andout of gear by a shipper handle or bar, a, and which serves to throw thewinding-drum into and out of action and at the will of an operator, fora purpose to be presently explained.

The driving sprocket-wheel e is mounted, as shown, fast on adrive-shaft, f, the bearingboxes of which are secured to the upperportion of the trestle-work, and which is provided with a drive-gear, I,at its idler, through the medium of which the necessary power may beapplied to drive the flighted chain c of the trough conveyor. Theflights (Z of said chain are made in about the usual manner and adaptedto travel within and cooperate with the tioor of the trough b in awell-known manner.

The chain c is of that species which is shown and described in LettersPatent granted to me September 12, 1882, and numbered 264,139, and whichis adapted to work in conjunction with sprocket-wheels with which it mayhave various relative arrangements, and the arrangement of the chain inthe case shown with the sprocket-wheels is such that the said chaincomes into lateral contact with the peripheries of the sprocket-wheelsg, 72 k, and s, (with the flights traveling above the plane of thewheels,) and into contact in a transverse direction with the drivingsprocketwheel e and the similarly arranged idler sprocket-wheel at thelower extremity of the double run of the chain, the [tights (7 of coursetraveling around or over the peripheries of these two last-namedsprocketwheels.

As that portion of the apparatus shown and so far described is designedto be supplied at the lowermost portion of the conveyer-trough with somesort of sliding or telescopic trough extension carrying the 1dlersprocketnvheel located at the lower end of the trough, it is necessaryof course under certain circumstances during the operation of such acontrivance to take up the obliquelyarranged portion of the double runof conveyer-chain to a greater or less (and sometimes to a very great)extent; and to thus contract or permit the distention of the fiightedchain it is only necessary to cause the truck m, which carries the idlersprocket-wheel s, to be moved in one direction or the other upon thetrack 0 upon which it is adapted to travel. To contract or shorten upthe conveyorehain, (usually while in motion,) the operative through themedium of the shipper-bar a; and the clutch w throws thewinding-drum tinto operation, whereby the cable 7' is wound up, thus pulling ordrawing the truck m 111 the direction indicated by the arrow at Fig. 1,While to permit the distention of the conveyer-chain (by the action ofthe gravity of the movable portion of the obliquely-arranged extensionof the conveyer-trough) it is only necessary to permit the drum t tounwind and let out the cable T, which takes the draft-strain of thetruck m.

In another application filed simultaneously by me, and numbered 292,515,I have fully shown and described one and a novel form of distensibleconveyer-trough extension that may be employed in connection with suchan apparatus or contrivanee as I have shown and described in this case.I, however, deem it unnecessary to complicate this application with anyillustration or description of such distensible trough-extension as theimprovements or invention made the subject of this application may besuccessfully employed with more or less advantage in connection with anysort of telescopic or other extension at the lower end or portion of theobliquelyarranged portion of the conveyor-trough 1).

Having now so fully explained the construction and general operation ofthe eontrivance shown that those skilled in the art can make and use thesame, what I claim, therefore, as new, and desire to secure by LettersPatent, is

In an apparatus or contrivance for elevating and conveying coal or othermaterial, the

combination of the following instn'umentali-- ties, viz: first, aconveyor-trough mounted upon and supported by suitable frame-work, asspecified; second, the conveyor-chain provided with suitable flightswhich cooperate with said trough and doubled 011 itself in a planetransverse to that in which lie those portions of the upper and lowerruns of the chain, the flights of which lower run coact with theconveyer-trough; third, a suitable up device and means for operating thesame, driving sprocket-wheel in engagement with the whole adapted tooperate in substantially said chain and that is mounted on a fixed themanner and for the purpose hereinbefore axis of motion, as specified;fourth, a series set forth.

5 of idler sprocket-wheels over which the loops In witness whereof Ihave hereunto set my 15 or contractive turns of the chain are made, handthis 13th day of October, 1888.

and which are in a plane transverse to that JAMES M. DODGE. in which arelocated the upper and lower In presence of runs of the chain, theflights of which lower E. A. TURNER,

10 run travel in the trough, and, fifth, a take- M. GETZ.

